Aeroplane.



c. H. 'OHOURKL l, AEROPLANE. APPLICATIUN FILED SEPT. I9. i917.

1,256,823. Patented Feb.19,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET C. H. OROURKE.

AEROPLANE.

APPLleATlon man SEPT. 19. 1911.

1,256 23. Patented Feb.19,1918. Y

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE'.

CORNELIUS H. OROURKE, OF HANFORD, CALIFORNIA.

AEROPLANE.

Application filed September 19 1917.

To (1M whom it may conca-rn.'

lle it known that l. Conxuntos H. (Yltolfnklc. a citizen of the United States, residing at Hanford. in the count)r of .Kings and LH`tate of California, have invented new and useful llnproveinents in Aeroplanes, of which the following is aspecificat-ion.

The present invention relates to improve- Iuents in aeroplanes. one object of the invention being to provide an aeroplane which will have small head resistance and thus will be able to travel at .very high speed. A\nother object is to provide an aia'ol'ilane, which will have great stability both in a lateral and in a longitudinal direction.

In the accompanying drawing` Figure 1 is a plan view of the aeroplane; Fig. is a longitudinal central section thereof; Figs. 3, -t, 5, are transverse vertical sections on the lines 33, 4 4, and 5-5 respectively of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is adetail cross section on the. line G-G vof Fig. 1, and Figs. 7 and 8 are detail longitudinal sections on the lines .7-7 and S1-8 respectively of Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates the central keel of the aeroplane, sloping downward from its fronty end to a point .solucwllat tofthe rear of its middle and their sloping upward to its rear end. To the front end of the keel are secured upper side pieces L of the bod)1 frame of the aeroplane, said side, pieces extending in a horizontal planeI and diverging rearwardly from each other to'points somewhat' iu front of' the lowest. point ofthe keel and Athen again converging to the rear.. Said side pieces .2 are braced at the` rear by transverse horizontal bars 3. To each side` piece are secured the upper ends of a V-shaped support. t, which supports are formed through their apiees with suitable .bearings for a transverse wheel shaft 5. mounted on wheels G adapted to travel on the ground. Said supports are held against. movement in a transverse direction by braces 7, each secured at. its outer end to the rearleg ofa V-shaped support and at its inner end to a bow-shaped piece 8. .said bow-sha ed pieces extending in a general longitu inal direction on opposite sides of the'keel in front of the lowest point thereof, and secured at their front and rear ends to said keel.

Extending in a transverse direction respectively above andbelow said side pieces 2 and secured thereto are cross bars 9 and 1Q, braced at intervals of their length by Specification of Letters Patent.

v the cross` pieees1.9 .20.

Patented Feb. 19, 1918.

Serial No. 192,045.

short braces 11 and which are secured intermediate of their 'length to. and respec tivel)r above and below bearing pieces 12, their endsI being secured to the rear ends 'of side bars 151. which conv-'erge forwardly from said bars t) and 10 and Ine'et at the front end of the keel, to whichthey are secured. Also secured. at their ends to the .side barsl 121 and to the side pieces '2 are cross bars 14 suitabl)y spaced froin each other in a series gradually increasing in length from the front to the cross bars 9, 1.() and connected with each other by struts 5() and ties 55. Secured at their lower ends to the keel. and extending upwardlyy and outwardllvto meet the side pieces 13, to which their other ends arel secured, are a series of transverse braces 15 of an approxiinatel'v parabolic forni, which braces, of course, gradually diminish in length forwardly. Braces 16 of parabolic form are. also seclvlred at their lower ends to said bowshaped piecesv and at their upper ends to. the outer ends of the bars 9, 10. The cross bars 10 and l-l are connected with the parabolic braces 1G and 15 by struts 17 and ties .\n upper cross piece 19 and a lower crossl piece tl'are secured to the side pieces Q of the bodv to the rear of the cross pieces t), lo. but ol' less length than said cross pieces ,11. lll. and their ends are. .secured to the rear ends of .short longitudinallvy extending pieces 2l. the front ends of which extend between the cross pieces t), 10, and are secured thereto. Approximately parabolic braces 22 :rre

secured ai their lower ends to the bow piecesv and at their upper ends to the ends of Pairs of braces Q3, '24, 25. are secured at their lower ends to the rear portion of the keel a't successivepoints and at their upper ends to the side pieces Q ot' the body frame. Shaper pieces 26 extend longitudinally on opposite. sides of the aeroplane and are curved outward at. the center and are secured at their front ends to the parabolic braces and at. their rear ends t'o a pair of braces 21. Between the lm ver' portions of said braces 2Q is secured the front end of a short beam 27, said beam'extending` longitudinally rearward and. -up ward from said braces 22. its rear endbeing secured between, and resting upon, the braces 23. Uponthe frontend of said beam is secured a bloek'QS andbetween the lower ends of the braces 16 Ais supported the casing 29 of an internal combustion engine having a radiator 88. and of which the shaft 30 central bearing piece 35 secured to the upperl and lower cross bars 9, 10, and around pulleys 36 on said shaft extend bands 37 which extend also around ulleys 38 on the front ends of shafts 39 wliich extend in alongitudinal direction' through the bearing pieces 11. and 17 and carry at their rear ends propellers 40 by which the aeroplane is prof:

pelled.

Pivoted upon a `block 41` securedon the the ends of which are secured cor s 43 which extend through guiding eyes 44, 45, 46 and 47, and are secured. first, to short posts 49,

51, extending respectively upwardly and4 downwardly from ailerons 52 and are then secured` as shown at 53, to the rear edges of said ailerons. Said'ailerons are hinged at their frontedges, as shown at 54, to the cms-s bars t). and occupy the spaces at the corners of .the triangular frame formed by the converging side bars 13 and the cross bars 9, 10, adjacent to., the short pieces 21.l

The outer sides of said ailerons are in line with the converging side bars 13.

Supported. upon the rear end of the beam 27 between thebraces 23is an aviators seat 56 located so that`the aviator can conveniently operate with his feet the balancing bar 42. Extendingfthrough a slot 57 in said beam in .front of said balancing bar 42 and pivoted to said bea'm is a steering post 58 forked at its upper end, and carrying in said` forked end a steeringwheel 59. Around saidsteering wheel extends a cord G1, both portions of which leaving said wheel extend rearwardly and upwardly and around guides (52. G3. and are attached .to the rear edge 0f a horizontal direction rudder 64, hinged, as shown at 66, toa rudder post4 67. Said rudderpost extends through, andfis attached to, a 'vertical ldirection lrudder 68, hinged, as shown at G9, to the rear edge .of the tail of the aeroplane, the frame ofV which tail is formed by means of a rear transmise bar 72 and outwardly diverging bars 71, the front ends of which are attached to the side pieces 2 of the body frame near their junctures -with upwardly extending braces 24 and a.

horizontal bar 3. yThe vertical direction rudvder, which extends' horizontally, is vibrated by meansof cords 73, 74, attached respectively tojupper and 4lower portions of the rudder ost 67 and suitably guided, as shown at 76, 7 and attached to the forkmembers of-the steerin postin line with vthe shaft of the steeringw eel. 'Itwill be seen that, with i this arrangement, when the aviator moves the 4steering post forwardly, he lthereby swings the vertical direction -rudder downl wardly and therefore depresses the aeroplane. Conversely, when he moves it rearwardlyjhe draws thc upper portion of the steering post forwardly and thereby elevates the vertical direction rudder. and, consequently, elevates the aeroplane. 1f the aviator turns the steering wheel he thereby causes the aeroplane to turn to the right or theleft, as the-case may be.

The frame is covered with suitable fabric. or other sheet material, the portion 78 of said fabric which .covers the upper portion of the frame being fiat, while the portion 79 1 of the fabric which covers the lower-portion of the 'frame is at the front in two surfaces of 'ageiieral paraboidal form, andat the rear its suraces 81 are curved convexly. -T he upper surface may be entirely closed, or, as shown in the drawings, an opening -83 may "be left therein above the seat and the steering post.. lindows 89 in ,the sides of the body casing are-provided for the convenience of the aviator. A passenger seat 84 is also provided, resting upon a suitable longitudinally extending support 86 supported upon two of -the parabolic bracesl, and an opening 87 is provided in the casing. of the aeroplane immediately above said passenger seat.

is clearly shown inFigs. .1, 6, 7, 8,-those parts of the upper covering of the frame which are to thel rear of-the cross piece 9, and to the inner sides of the shafts 39,'clurve downward to the rear. the rear edgesof the attaclnulto the lower cross bar 20, and those parts thereof which are-more remote-from l said shafts 3D and adjacent to the body por tion, being attached to the parabolic brace The object 'of thus making the rear end of the upper portion of `the 'casing at the fron't of the aeroplane curve downwardly is to cause it tohlneet the lower portion of the casing in a sharp ed'ge. 4 Otherwise said sustaining portion of the aeroplane would end in large open spaces which would cause eddy currents at its rear and by reason of the lag thus produced lwould greatly reduce the speed of the aeroplane. i

An aeroplane of this form will develop great speed for the power expended in'propelling it;V for the reason that it has very littlehead resistance, as contrasted with the aeroplanes at present in general use, in which a sustaining plane of considerable width is driven through the air with the front, edge of'thc whole lengtli o'f said plane forced into dead air by the thrust of the propeller. It will be observed-that in my invention only1 a single point, namely the front eiid, of the aeroplane is forcedthrough the dead air, the iront edge of the aeroplane, extending obliquely rearward from the front end, only meeting lair which' has already been dis; iturbetl. from its. state of quiescence, and

to the cutting of' a knife which is pressed.

forward in a direction at ri ht angles to its edge and that offered -to t e cutting of a knife which, aswell as bein pressed for- Ward, is' drawnin a longi-tu inal direction parallelwith-its'edge,v In the latter case th'e cuttinggeiect is much 'greater than in the former, -Invlike manner fthe cutting of the my improved aeroplane can be produce by a lnuch less expenditure of power than by those aeroplanes whose front edges extend in a direction at right* angles withthe propelling force, n

Furthermore, owing to the shape of my improved aeroplane, and Vespecially the body portion thereof, I utilize the resistance necessarily offered to the passageof the aeroplane through theair as a means of sustaining the aeroplane.- This is done only to a slight exvder side of the body :plane to produce t -my invention it will be observed that 'the' tent with aeroplanes in general use. Thesel aeropla'nes Y have a body portion separate from the sustaining plane, and, in general, no attempt has-been made to extend the vunportion tothe sustaining ereby alifting effect.' In

under side of the casing extends lon both sides of the keel in surfacesof general parabolic form'through the enti-re width of the sustaining, plane, which is flat on the top', and these under surfaces of the body portion have a .general liftin effect.

Thisis also assiste by `thev tapering form of the rear portion of the body of my aeroplane.

r'..It Iwill also `be fobserved howy very stable,

both in, a longitudinal and a lateral direc'- tion,is my improved aero lane. The great stabilit in a longitudina direction is due I to the act 4thatfthe depth ofthe casing increases gradually from front to rear, and

therefore, the more vrapidly' the aeroplane travels, the greater is the tendency of the front olftion of the aeroplane' to e. lifted upwar The lateral stability'is caused by the fact that on each sideof .the keel of the aeroplane there lare'parabolic Asurfaces having'a greater lifting tendency at `the outer ortions than at the inner portions. Since t e inner por- 'tion of each parabolic sur-face is more nearly vertical than the outer portion which is nearly horizontal, the lifting eilzect on ythe outer-portion of Athe surface is much thel greater, 'and consequently' ,"the aerOPlaneis always in. a lposition. of stable 05 ullibriu-m,

any tendency to tilt alater direction tending s being immediately overcome by the increasing resistance which the under surface' of 'meeting at their front ends, a keelfthe -front 4'end' of which is connected to the front ends of the sider pieces and which extends rearwardly'and downwardly therefrom to a mediate ortion thereof, a series of ,cross pieces suitably spaced from each other secured to said horizontal side pieces and of'length increasing rearwardly, rearwardly diverging side bars secured at their front ends to the front ends of the side pieces and of the keel, transversely extendingv approximately parabolic braces-'secured at their lower ends to the keel and-extending therefrom in a direction first upwardly andthen outwardly and secured at their" outer ends to said cross pieces and side bars, a casing of sheet material secured to said cross p ieces, keel, side bars and arabolic braces, longitudinally exiiafts-'on o 'posite sides of the aerolieir rear. ends behindthe plane, vand?having t rearmost cross piece, means for rotating said shafts, and propellers .on the rear ends 0f said shafts.

2. I n an aeroplane, a frame-comprising horizontally andl longitudinally extending side pieces converging from mediate p0rtions toward their front and rear-ends and meeting at their ,front ends,'a keel the front end of which vis ,connectedto the front ends of the side pieces andy which extends rearwardly and downwardly therefrom to a Imediate portion thereof and then rearwardly and upwardlfy, ja series of cross pieces suitably spaced rom each other secured to said 'horizontal sidejpieces and of length increasing rearwardly exceptl the rearmost cross .piece which is shorter than the 'one immediately in front thereof, fshort longitudinal pieces connectingthe outer ends of the rearmost cross piece with the one immediately in front, rearwardly diverging side bars secured at'their front ends to the-front ends of the side pieces and of the keel, transversely extending approximately parabolicv braces.,

secured` at their lower ends to the 4:keel and* `extending therefrom in a direction first up wardlyand then outwardly and secured at their outer 4ends to said cross pieces and side bars, a casing. of sheetma'terial secured' to Asaid cross pieces', keel, side bars andarabolic 'brac-lailerons having theirl ront edges bmg' to thelongest erosspiecel land thei'xinnerv edges adjacentl to said shox-#filon gitudinal pieces, longitudinally exteng shafts having .their rear ends adjacent'to.

.wardly and downwardly therefrom to a` mediate portion thereof, a series of cross pieces suitably spaced from each other secured to said horizontal side pieces and of length increasing rearwardly, rearwardly liverging side bars secured at their front ends to the frontends of the side pieces and of the keel, transversely extending approximately parabolic braces -secured at their to vsaid cross lower ends to the keel and extending therefrom in a direction first upwardly and then outwardly and secured 'at their outer ends ieces and side bars, a casing of sheet material secured to said cross pieces, keel, side bars and parabolic braces, longitudinally extending shafts on opposite sides of the. aeroplane, and having their rear ends behind the rearmost cross piece, means for rotating said shafts, and propellers on the rear ends of said shafts, 'the casing of sheet material covering the upper portion of the front of the frame curving downward at its rear edge and secured to the same part of the frame as that to which is secured the rear edgef the portion of the casing of sheet material which covers 'the under side of the frame, thereby avoiding eddy currents.

CORNELIUS H. OROURKE. 

